Hydraulic Breaker Sizing: Which Breaker Fits Your Excavator
When you’re choosing a hydraulic breaker, the first thing to figure out is what your excavator weighs, because every breaker is built for a range of machine weights. Our 2026 rental rate guide lists that range for each of the eleven Kent breakers we rent, from the FX15 for a 2,500 pound excavator up to the FX475 for an 80,000 to 110,000 pound excavator. Find your machine’s weight, take the breaker whose range covers it, and you’re set. Where two ranges overlap, either breaker fits, and the bigger one hits harder, so tell us what you’re breaking and we’ll send the one for it. A few of our own rental excavators fall between the ranges, and they’re named below.
The eleven breakers we rent
Each breaker is listed for an excavator weight range, with the excavators in our rental fleet that fall inside it.
| Breaker | For an excavator weighing (pounds) | Our rental excavators in that range |
|---|---|---|
| Kent FX15 | 2,500 | Takeuchi TB210R |
| Kent FX35 | 3,800 to 7,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX17U-5N and ZX26U-5N; Takeuchi TB216 and TB230 |
| Kent FX55 | 7,600 to 9,000, and skid steers | Takeuchi TB235-2, TB335R, and TB240; Hitachi/Landcros ZX35U-5N |
| Kent F6 | 11,000 to 19,000 | Takeuchi TB350R, TB250-2, TB260, TB257FR, TB370, TB290, and TB280FR; Hitachi/Landcros ZX60USB-5N and ZX75US-7; Link-Belt 80X3 |
| Kent F9 | 15,000 to 19,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX75US-7; Takeuchi TB290 and TB280FR; Link-Belt 80X3 |
| Kent FX125 | 30,000 to 40,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX130-7H, ZX135US-7H, and ZX160LC-7H; Link-Belt 145X4S |
| Kent FX175 | 38,000 to 58,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX160LC-7H and ZX210LC-7H; Link-Belt 170X4S, 220X4S, 245X4, and 250X4 |
| Kent FX225 | 48,000 to 58,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX210LC-7H; Link-Belt 220X4S, 245X4, and 250X4 |
| Kent FX275 | 57,000 to 68,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX245USLC-7H and ZX250LC-6/7H; Link-Belt 250X4 Long Front and 300X4S |
| Kent FX375 | 67,000 to 82,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX300LC-7H, ZX345USLC-7H, and ZX350LC-7H; Link-Belt 300X4S and 355X4S |
| Kent FX475 | 80,000 to 110,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX350LC-7H; Link-Belt 370X4S and 490X4 |
How to pick one
Start with your machine’s weight. It’s in the operator’s manual, and if the machine is one of ours, it’s in the table above. Then find the row that covers that weight, and that row is your breaker. The FX35 row covers a Takeuchi TB216 at 3,902 pounds, and the FX55 row covers a Takeuchi TB240 at 8,990.
Some machines are covered by two rows, because the ranges overlap. The FX175 and the FX225 both cover a Hitachi/Landcros ZX210LC-7H at 50,927 pounds, and either one fits. The FX225 hits harder, so tell us what you’re breaking and how thick it is, and we’ll pick between the two.
Some machines are covered by no row at all. Five of our own rental excavators fall between or beyond the ranges: the Hitachi/Landcros ZX30U-5N at 7,055 pounds, the ZX50U-5N at 10,957, the ZX85USB-7 at 19,200, the ZX490LC-7H at 110,672, and the ZX690LC-7H at 152,780. If you’re renting a breaker for one of those, call first and we’ll tell you which one goes out with it.
Whichever row you land in, stay inside it. A breaker that’s too big or too small for the machine carrying it wears out early and can fail without warning. If the breaker is going on a skid steer instead of an excavator, the FX55 is the one on our list that fits it. If it’s going on a coupler, make sure the coupler’s maker approves it for breakers, because some don’t, and our guide to what fits your machine covers the check.
Compactors follow the same rule
Our excavator-mounted Kent compactors are listed the same way, by the weight of the excavator that carries them.
| Compactor | For an excavator weighing (pounds) | Our rental excavators in that range |
|---|---|---|
| Kent HP35 | 2,500 to 4,000 | Takeuchi TB210R and TB216; Hitachi/Landcros ZX17U-5N |
| Kent HP65 or HP75 | 5,500 to 19,000 | Every other compact excavator we rent, from the Hitachi/Landcros ZX26U-5N at 5,556 pounds to the Link-Belt 80X3 at 18,900 |
| Kent HP135 | 30,000 to 56,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX130-7H, ZX135US-7H, ZX160LC-7H, and ZX210LC-7H; Link-Belt 145X4S, 170X4S, and 220X4S |
| Kent HP210 | 57,000 to 83,000 | Hitachi/Landcros ZX245USLC-7H, ZX250LC-6/7H, ZX300LC-7H, ZX345USLC-7H, and ZX350LC-7H; Link-Belt 250X4 Long Front, 300X4S, and 355X4S |
Seven of our rental excavators fall between or beyond the compactor ranges: the Hitachi/Landcros ZX85USB-7 at 19,200 pounds, the Link-Belt 245X4 and 250X4 at 56,900, the 370X4S at 83,776, the 490X4 at 109,800, and the ZX490LC-7H and ZX690LC-7H above the top of the list. Call about any of those and we’ll say which compactor goes with it.
Breaker maintenance
Keep the breaker greased with the lubricant its maker calls for, because standard grease doesn’t do the job on most of them. Leave the hose ends out of the dirt and the in and out ports closed on the job site, so dust and sand don’t get into the hydraulics. Every 10 hours, pull the retaining pin and the tool and look them over. Every 50 hours, check the tool shank, the bushings, and the hydraulic hoses for wear. Have the breaker serviced every 600 hours or once a year. Our Best Practices article on attachment maintenance has the full inspection.
Renting and buying
All eleven breakers and all four compactor sizes rent, and we sell FRD/Kent breakers and compactors new at our three locations. Rentals don’t include an operator. Our guide to how renting works covers hours, fuel, insurance, and returns.
What to tell us when you reserve
Tell us the machine the breaker is going on, with its weight if it isn’t one of ours, what you’ll be breaking, and whether the machine has a coupler. With that, we can send the breaker that fits.
Talk to a location near you
Call or text, or send us the question through our contact page.